Blurb(GR): Generations ago, a genetic experiment gone wrong—the Reduction—decimated humanity, giving rise to a Luddite nobility who outlawed most technology. Elliot North has always known her place in this world. Four years ago Elliot refused to run away with her childhood sweetheart, the servant Kai, choosing duty to her family’s estate over love. Since then the world has changed: a new class of Post-Reductionists is jumpstarting the wheel of progress, and Elliot’s estate is foundering, forcing her to rent land to the mysterious Cloud Fleet, a group of shipbuilders that includes renowned explorer Captain Malakai Wentforth—an almost unrecognizable Kai. And while Elliot wonders if this could be their second chance, Kai seems determined to show Elliot exactly what she gave up when she let him go.

But Elliot soon discovers her old friend carries a secret—one that could change their society . . . or bring it to its knees. And again, she’s faced with a choice: cling to what she’s been raised to believe, or cast her lot with the only boy she’s ever loved, even if she’s lost him forever.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s persuasion, For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Review:In the realm of music, this post-apocalyptic reboot of Jane Austen’s Persuasion would be what’s referred to as a cover song. As a massive music fan, I’ve developed two major criteria for what I think makes a successful cover song (aspiring musicians take note – a YA book blogger is giving you advice!):

I’ve been pretty vocal about my absolute love for Jane Austen’s Persuasion, so obviously to me it’s a work of brilliance. For me to enjoy this book, it would have to employ strategy #2: it would have to be pretty innovative and different than its source material.

And the first half of this book appears to be exactly that. I think Diana Peterfreund has a really interesting idea here. This story takes place in a post-apocalyptic England (I think – it’s never explicitly stated) where ambitious human tinkering with genetics has resulted in the majority of the human population becoming “Reduced” – essentially mentally limited and unable to speak or care for themselves. The lone survivors are the “Luddites” – a group of people opposed to all genetic manipulation who hid out in caves while the rest of the world imploded. Upon emerging from the caves, the Luddites discovered the Reduced and decided that it was their God-given duty to care for these leftover people. So of course, they decided to round them up and install them as slave labor on plantations and farms. Naturally. The twisted relationship between these two groups becomes even more charged when the Reduced start producing normal offspring, or “Posts” (which is an abbreviation of “post-reductionist”). These children are born into a slave role but begin to chafe at the injustice of their situation.

Isn’t that just deliciously dark? I know it intrigued me. There’s so much potential there for a very complex world. Plus, I think it’s an interesting spin on the relationship between the nobility and the working class in Georgian England (not to mention, it’s obvious that a great deal of inspiration was taken from American slavery).

Unfortunately though, I think this is yet another case of an (admittedly ambitious) post-apocalyptic setting being reduced to a simple backdrop for fraught young love. Kai is a Post, Elliot is a Luddite. They are in love, yet this crazy crazy world won’t let them be together. Woe, woe, woe times infinity.

The slavery itself feels a bit oversimplified and even sanitized in parts. The life of a slave is hard and slaves are often abused… Elliot mentions this several times but then always assures the reader that these things don’t happen on her plantation (even though in every other case her father is a merciless tyrant). It’s mentioned in one scene that the Reduced/Posts work ten hour days and in another scene that they don’t get paid, but Elliot never seems to consider these details wrong. Several Posts are incredibly loyal to her, but they are never shown to have any conflict, any deeper feelings about staying on the plantation. One of her Post friends is sent to a birthing house – a terrible place where pregnant Reduced have to go – but then seems to just smile and accept it, assuring Elliot that “it’s not so bad.” Even at the end, Elliot doesn’t free them, offer to pay them a wage, or offer them any option other than working on her farm. It’s just glossed over like it’s no big deal. Slavery is never not a big deal!

My other major problem with this book is that I just couldn’t ever stop comparing it to its source material. This book is very similar to Persuasion in its basic storyline and in its characters, which was a major problem for me because it was so obviously less than the original. I love Anne Elliot because she is mature, quiet, introspective, and she has understandable regret. When Captain Wentworth reappears in her life, it is the most heartbreaking and awkward situation she has ever endured, but she gets through it stoically and with grace, even as she’s shattering on the inside. Captain Wentworth is an enigma: he appears to have moved on, but has he? We aren’t allowed to know until the very end and his final epistolary reveal is one of the most beautiful, cathartic letters ever written. EVER.

Whereas, in this book Elliot is a young woman who had to refuse Kai. She had to, or everyone on her plantation would starve. She’s allowed to have a righteous certainty in her decision that Anne never had. Kai is vocal about his anger from the get-go, turning Elliot into even more of the victim. His true feelings are blatantly revealed in several scenes before the letter, thus rendering its cathartic potential completely inert. And the letter itself is like a poorly paraphrased version of the original. It would be better to just omit that famous letter rather than “re-write” it in a completely unoriginal way. All of these elements together make this book feel like a much less nuanced, much less mature, much less powerful version of the original.

The ending feels hasty and clumsy, with conflicts magically resolving (or being left to hang without a thought), villains disappearing off the page into thin air, and several characters making abrupt one-eighties that feel convenient but not realistic. In the world of cover songs, this book is neither original nor innovative.

This book is like Cee Lo Green’s recent version of Band of Horses’ No One’s Gonna Love You. Sure, it’s not horrible. I can listen to it. But after a while all I can hear is the annoying back beat, the corny string section, and the fact that his robotic singing bleeds every ounce of emotion out of this rather desperate song. Listening to this just makes me want to put on the much more brilliant original.

A note about the cover: This cover has got to go! Elliot is repeatedly described as having brown skin, almond-shaped eyes, and long black hair. She’s clearly not a white person! And there's a reason why everyone saw this cover and assumed this was "Persuasion in space."

I know I already commented at Goodreads, but it bears repeating (that is the correct bear, right? ALWAYS getting that one confused!), really good review and fun musically selections. BTW, I think Diana Peterfreund is adding to the cover race confusion with comments like this one: https://twitter.com/#!/dpeterfreund/status/196978934225698817

What an odd comment on the author's part! Although I can't say this is new. I remember the author of "The Girl of Fire and Thorns" was very happy with a white skinny girl on the cover, when she described her in her own book as brown-skinned and overweight.

Reply

mollydot

5/11/2012 09:50:47 am

She's talking about a different book: http://landsbeyond.tumblr.com/post/22133210679/what-i-talk-about-when-i-talk-about-my-new-book

How does a bare bear bear the cold? :) That picture is very confusing! I mean, her heroine eschews all brightly colored clothes, wears trousers and old sweaters all the time, and has black hair and brown skin. Maybe she just thinks it's a nice picture? I guess she does acknowledge that Charlize looks nothing like her MC. Thanks for coming by Michelle! :)

"aspiring musicians take note – a YA book blogger is giving you advice!"

LOL! If I had any musical talent whatsoever, you better believe I'd be heeding your words of wisdom.

Agh! I've said this many, many times, but Persuasion is my favorite of Austen, and it just doesn't seem like any retelling could do it justice, especially in regards to the letter! And I can't believe the cover is so off! Another case of trying to sell a lackluster story by slapping some glitz and glam on it? Not cool.

Me too! I think that any re-telling would have to be completely different for me to enjoy it. I do actually like the cover by itself, but it does make the book seem like a space adventure AND it represents the MC as being white, which I don't think she is.

That seems to be the case with a lot of recent YA books. The cover MUST be pretty, regardless of how completely unrelated to the story it is.

Anyway, great review Catie! I have to admit, I've been anticipating the release of this book as the premise sounds amazing and exactly like my type of book. It's so disappointing to hear it doesn't quite live up to it.

You know Sam, if you haven't read Persuasion (have you?) then you might actually like it! I think I might even recommend this for people who haven't read Persuasion and like lighter sci-fi with romance. I'd be interested in your opinion for sure!

Catie, I couldn't stop comparing it to Persuasion as well. It's one of my favorite books of all time, and reread it every year, and I should've known I was setting myself up for disappointment. Nevertheless I've been so excited about the retelling since I first heard Diana was writing it and then let my expectations balloon until I was lent the ARC. After being letdown I still want to change my reaction. I wanted to love it so badly. Anyway, thank you for your honest review. I feel better knowing that I was not the only one.

Oh, I didn't know you were reading this too Holly! I'll have to go look up your review. I've been really absent from the internet for the past four days so I know that I've missed tons of reviews. It makes me feel better that you felt the same way, too. When I looked on goodreads a few days ago there were only 4 and 5 star reviews. I felt pretty out there. I had been really looking forward to this one for the same reasons, but I just didn't like it.

Maggie, I admit that when I first read his name ("Wentforth") I laughed really loudly. It's so similar! It does kind of make sense later, because all of the free Posts give themselves new names and so his (I guess) is a name that represents his running away and exploring. It still sounds silly though.

Hahaha, what are the chances? Somehow I doubt my favorite indie bands are reading YA book blogs in between sets, LOL.

Ah, no. I'm so disappointed about the cover. I really loved it but now? Not so much. Would it have killed them to put a girl with the right colour skin on the cover?! The cover sounds misleading in general. That sucks.

Sorry this one was a let down for you. I'll probably still give it a try but I'll be more cautious!

Amazing analogy, Catie. How you come up with these things is beyond me. Anyway, here's my favorite cover ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMKmQmkJ9gg
At least you won't get distracted by the mini skirts like SOME people I know.
I think I'll stay away from this one, but if you do decide to reread Persuasion, let me know.

Catie, I love your assessment of cover songs and agree 100%! This completely carries over into 'cover books'. If it's going to be too similar to the excellent original, why the heck are you covering it in the first place? Also I agree with you about Band of Horses. :P

I actually recently picked up Persuasion thinking I need to reread it. I was way too young to appreciate it the first time, and really didn't. I was hoping to read it before this book, but now I'm thinking I'll enjoy this one much more if I don't. I do still want to check this one out, but not having the source material fresh in my mind could only be a bonus!

Reply

Catie (The Reaventurer)

5/2/2012 03:44:56 am

Haha, that's a great attitude. You probably will enjoy this more if you don't remember Persuasion! Are you a BOH fan? I saw them here in DC about six months ago and they were amazing live. That always impresses me. His voice sounds even better than it does recorded.

Catie, I've seen mixed reviews of this book and I'm trying to decide if I should pre-order it from Book Depository or just wait for the paperback to be released. I've never read a Diana Peterfreund before and this seems like a good one to start with since it's a standalone. Sorry to hear you didn't like it as much as you were expecting though.

Yeah, this would probably be a great one to start with Chachic. I know that my review is pretty negative, but here's a mixed review from Holly: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/230582902 and a very positive review from bibliopunkk: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/104359685